As I leapt from the balcony, my mind was racing. I ducked into the shadows to catch my breath.
The princess.
She was right there.
She had seen me.
Wendy.
A gorgeous name for a gorgeous girl.
But...
Was she...crying?
She couldn't have been. What's there to cry about when you're a princess?
I pushed the thought to the back of my mind when it dawned on me.
The hand she reached for with was stained with blood.
Without thinking I slowly climbed back to the balcony, staying hidden in the shadows.
When I reached the fourth level, she was still on the balcony, looking out on the city. The wind blew her dark brown bangs into her puffy, red eyes.
She definitely had been crying, but why?
She looked at her wrist and winced. She turned towards the door. I noticed the blooding trickling from the cut. I jumped on the balcony. She needed help, even if I was her only hope for it.
"Excuse me?" I calmly said. She whipped around at the sound of my voice, not realizing she had company. Her eyes were full of fear as she backed away slowly.
"Don't come any closer to me!" Her voice was very strong for someone who looked so weak.
I shrugged and stayed where I was. I took a quick look at her wrist, more blood leak onto the balcony floor. "Why do you do that to yourself?" I inquired in soothing voice.
"Why do you care? We all have problems, don't we? Don't make my life your problem. Just stay away from me." She turned to walk through the door and I grabbed her arm gently. She stopped and looked at it, then back at me. Her soft hazel eyes met my firm ones.
I had her attention now. "Because in my family, I was always taught that those who are hurt, need help. And those who need help, only need someone to care."
"How do I know to trust you? For all I know, you could be a spy from an enemy country or such. Or you could-"
"Do you really think that is the type of guy I am, princess?" I backed down, giving her the space she needed to think.
"Oh, I don't know. Everything I think is wrong anyway. Why not be wrong about this, as well? Why do you care?"
"Because there's something inside me, I don't know what it is, but when I see a girl, or anyone, who's hurt, I hurt for them and want nothing more than for them to be okay. I have the impulse to be their knight in shining armor." I added with a sheepish grin. "Plus, you look like you need someone to care, assuming you don't have anyone like that. I'm Alex." I stuck my hand out for her to shake. She looked at me skeptically for a moment and then finally gave in.
"I'm Wendy," she said taking my hand.
"Well, then instead of a knight, dear princess, I'll be your Peter and we'll escape to Neverland together." We clasped our hands together and I led her inside to clean her still-dripping wrist.
~
After we cleaned her wrist and bandaged it, we sat out on the balcony, under the stars, and talked.
We talked of my family and her family; my friends and her non-existent ones; about music; and about how we both want nothing more than to escape our lives.
"For a long time," she started, "when I was really young and Mother and Father stopped caring, I'd come out here and sit and watch the sky. I'd look at the stars and think I was close to them. And I'd reach for them. I kept dreaming that they were six feet away. I was six feet under the stars. And whenever I grew an inch, I would count how much more I'd need to grow until I could touch them."
"That's an interesting way of putting it. Do you still count the inches?"
"Sadly, no. I gave up when I determined I was four feet away," she sighed.
"Why did you do that?"
"I grew up. I realized it was silly and childish and I'd never reach them. I was stuck here and couldn't do a thing about it."
"Now why would you do a thing like that? Never grow up, Wendy! It's not worth it!" I sounded crazy, I'm sure, but this was serious. "You never want to do something you might regret."
She shifted, uneasily, and opened her mouth to say something when a booming voice interrupted her.
"WENDY! Open this door! Your mother and I would like a word with you! Now!"
"Oh, shit," she whispered. "You need to go. Now!"
She hopped up and scrambled to the door.
"Wendy, what's wrong? I-"
"Leave, now. Don't get dragged into this."
"Will I see you again soon?" I asked her, hopefully.
She turned to me to say something when we both jumped at a loud crack and more yells from the booming voice. She bolted inside and I, fearing for my life, jumped from the balcony and ran through the streets, away from the palace. My mind was clouded with thoughts of Wendy; thoughts of what she might've said; and thoughts of Peter Pan.

Notes

hope you enjoyed this chapter c:
decided to change up the pov
I may do that again sometime, i'll let you know if I do.
let me know how it is ^.^
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